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Wednesday, August 8
Gordon well on his way
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com
It's over. Done. Finished. Kaput.
Even though there are still 15 races left, given the streak of superior
consistency that he's been riding more than any other driver this season --
particularly in the last month, culminating with Sunday's Brickyard 400
victory -- Jeff Gordon has all but sealed the 2001 Winston Cup championship.
With four wins, five runner-ups and a points lead that grows
increasingly more comfortable with each subsequent race over main challengers
Ricky Rudd and Dale Jarrett, Gordon is a virtual lock to win the 2001 Cup.
|  | | Gordon holds a 160-point lead in the Winston Cup standings. |
Sorry, Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Bill Elliott,
Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin and everyone else.
The only way Gordon could lose the championship battle is if a sudden
unfortunate turn of circumstances befalls him, crew chief Robbie Loomis and
the rest of his Rick Hendrick Racing team. But given how the team has been
the most consistent of the nearly 50 teams regularly competing on the circuit
each week, chances of a 180-degree turn in fate are highly unlikely at this
point.
All Gordon has to do is keep doing what he's been doing, and the Winston Cup
crown will be his in short order.
The reason Gordon is my odds-on favorite to accept the ceremonial Cup trophy
at season's end is three-fold:
First, after struggling to a ninth-place finish last season (a finish most
other teams would love to have), the second-worst finish of his Winston Cup
career last season (he was 14th as a rookie in 1993), Gordon came into this
season bound and determined to prove 2000 was a fluke. What's more, Gordon
wanted to prove that he could win even in the absence of former crew chief
Ray Evernham, who directed Gordon to three Cup championships in a four-year
stretch (1995, 1997 and 1998).
The combination of Evernham leaving Gordon and Hendrick Racing to shepherd
Dodge's return to Winston Cup after a nearly 20-year hiatus, along with
Gordon's miserable 2000 campaign (by normal Gordonesque standards), made many
observers feel that Gordon would never be able to return to Cup prominence
without Evernham's guidance.
Second, after admittedly struggling himself and enduring considerable
criticism in his rookie campaign as Gordon's crew chief, Loomis without
question has come into his own as one of the best crew chiefs in the game in
2001. His directorship of Gordon's championship quest has been nothing short
of Evernham-caliber leadership.
Loomis not only has made the right calls when
he has needed to, he's also made gutsy calls that have gone against the grain
of most other teams -- and wound up with a win or high finish as a result.
Thirdly, credit also has to be given to Hendrick. He not only had the
visionary chutzpah to pick Loomis as Evernham's replacement over a more
experienced person, he also deserves kudos for not stepping in with a heavy
hand and making wholesale changes after last year's so-called "disappointing"
season.
Hendrick stayed the course, let Loomis and Gordon gel and bond
together, didn't stick his nose too far into the team's business and was
content to remain an interested observer rather than a meddling nabob.
If their current streak of good fortune continues for the remainder of the
season -- and there's no reason to think it won't -- Gordon will win the Cup
title, Loomis will be acknowledged as crew chief of the year, and Hendrick
will be honored as owner of the year.
And while it's not likely to happen because a ninth-place seasonal finish is
not overly poor by conventional NASCAR standards, Gordon would also win my
vote for comeback driver of the year for his pluck, verve and determination
to once again prove he's the best driver in Winston Cup.
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“ |
(Rick Hendrick) not only had the
visionary chutzpah to pick Loomis as Evernham's replacement over a more
experienced person, he also deserves kudos for not stepping in with a heavy
hand and making wholesale changes after last year's so-called 'disappointing'
season. ” |
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— Bonkowski |
In a way, Gordon's success this year can also be partly attributed to the
death of chief rival Dale Earnhardt, who was tragically killed in a last-lap
crash at the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. Whether it's been said
or not, Gordon was the driver that most of the rest of NASCAR and its fans
expected to pick up the leadership mantle and assume Earnhardt's place as
the circuit's most popular and successful driver.
With Earnhardt gone, NASCAR was lost. "It was like we lost our captain, our
leader," driver Dave Blaney said earlier this year.
But after the tears were wiped away, folks began to
realize that NASCAR would still go on without the late No. 3, Gordon became
the de facto heir apparent. He was young, the next-most successful driver
behind Earnhardt on the circuit, and was the second-most popular driver among
fans.
In other words, Gordon was a natural to become Winston Cup's No. 1 ambassador
and leader. And having celebrated his 30th birthday one day before Sunday's
win at Indianapolis, Gordon likely has a long and prosperous future ahead of him -- a future which could see him go on to win not only this season's championship, but many more to come -- and perhaps ultimately become NASCAR's greatest driver ever.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR Winston Cup for
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